‘Overbearing Virtues’ is a personal investigation which confronts the pressures implemented on representations of the male physique. Enthused by his own struggle with body insecurities, Adam Hurst has produced a series of self portraits, exploring his own relationship with traditional ideologies of masculinity, a gendered stereotype that has pervasively remained within western culture and the 21st century.
Turning the camera onto himself, Hurst is seen at his most vulnerable, performing with his slender figure to challenge the dominant representations of the manly ideal. In a society that may and can dehumanise those who don’t fit into social expectations, ‘Overbearing Virtues’ dismantles those distinctive depictions in the hopes of empowering others to embrace their insecurities and tackle their boundaries in the journey towards self-acceptance.